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The Psychological Assault on German American Consciousness during World War One Conclusion

Conclusion: As World War One ended most German Americans were emotionally numb after four years of severe stress on the psyche of their ethnic self identity. The government sanctioned, openly predjudicial psychological assault on their once proud German American consciousness left an emotional scar that has never completely healed. Tired of persecution and compromising situations that German ethnic identity might incite, the war hastened their assimilation, especially among the second and third generations. Intimidated by what had transpired during the war years and leery of calling attention to themselves as German Americans, many found it easier to drop the hyphen and get on with their lives.